Hot food: Cumquats

What are they?

Small, juicy winter citrus fruits native to China, with very sharp, tangy flesh and juice. They're so bittersweet that if you bit into one thinking it was a baby mandarin, you'd be traumatised. It's the mark of a good cook, then, to take such forbiddingly bitter fruit, and make them not only edible, but delicious.

Where are they?

In cocktails, of course, where their fruity tang can be harnessed by alcohol. The cumquat mojitos of sake, lemon, lime, mint and soda at the House of Crabs in Redfern prove that even potent beverages can be as seasonal as food. "Cumquats can be crazy sour, which is probably why they aren't used a lot," says the House's Jaime Wirth, "but the sugar and mint help to make it fresh and fruity. It's a good use for that fruit that you steal from your neighbour's yard, but usually have no use for."

Saint Crispin​ chef Joe Grbac​ also has a soft spot for cumquats, recently posting a love letter to the tiny acidic fruits on the Saint Crispin blog and blessing his neighbour Mrs Henderson and his Aunty Lorraine for supplying him with bags of the home-grown fruit. "Cumquats have such high floral notes," he says. "It's like perfume you can taste."

At Saint Crispin, bittersweet, syrupy cumquats are served with chocolate custard and rosemary ice-cream. Grbac recommends blanching the fruit and shocking it in ice, repeatedly, in order to reduce the bitterness. "The zest is beautiful in its own right," he says. "Or you can pickle them to serve with charcuterie or raw fish."

Why do I care?

Because they're brilliant candied or pickled, and make a beautifully bittersweet steamed pudding.

Can I do it at home?

Yes. Bring out your inner nanna (or urban hipster) and make cumquat marmalade this weekend.

SOURCING

VIC
Saint Crispin 300 Smith Street, Collingwood 03 9419 2202

NSW
House of Crabs Level 1, The Norfolk Hotel, 305 Cleveland Street, Redfern 02 9699 3177

Cumquat and tequila marmalade

Unopened jars will last six months, easy. Store opened jars in the fridge and serve on hot toast, with good cheese, or with crusty bread and labna.

1kg cumquats, scrubbed

1kg white granulated sugar

1 tbsp tequila or Cointreau

1. Cut each cumquat in half. Hold each half over a bowl and squeeze out the juice and seeds. Cut each half in half. Strain the juice, discarding the pips (the jam will set well enough without their extra pectin power).

2. Place the cumquats and their juice in a heavy-bottomed pan, and add enough cold water to cover. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer gently for one to one-and-a-half hours or until the fruit is soft.

3. Add the sugar, stirring until dissolved. Bring the mixture back to the boil, and boil quite rapidly for about 15 minutes, watching like a hawk, stirring occasionally and skimming judiciously, until the marmalade reaches setting point.

4. To test, place one teaspoon of the mixture on a saucer and cool in the freezer for three minutes. If set, it will wrinkle when moved. Stir in the tequila, then ladle carefully into warm, sterilised jars and seal.

Makes About 3 x 225ml jars